{"id":43494,"date":"2026-08-14T03:59:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T22:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=43494"},"modified":"2026-08-14T03:59:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T22:59:34","slug":"trump-controlled-kennedy-center-board-votes-for-new-scheme-to-put-his-name-back-on-building-despite-court-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=43494","title":{"rendered":"Trump-Controlled Kennedy Center Board Votes for New Scheme to Put His Name Back on Building Despite Court Order"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5736431\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5736431\" class=\"wp-image-5736431 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26169495348136-1200x800.jpg\" alt=\"Kennedy Center with tarp after Donald Trump&apos;s name removed\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5736431\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">AP Photo\/Rahmat Gul<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Board for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to approve trying again to add President<strong> Donald Trump&#8217;s<\/strong> name to the building, a move <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/08\/13\/arts\/design\/kennedy-center-closure-board-vote-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The New York Times<\/em><\/a> arts and culture reporter <strong>Julia Jacobs<\/strong> characterized as &#8220;aggressively testing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/lawcrime\/judge-orders-trump-admin-to-explain-the-purpose-for-and-status-of-the-tarp-and-scaffolding-on-the-kennedy-center\/\">federal judge\u2019s order<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after his second inauguration, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/politics\/trump\/trump-appoints-himself-chairman-of-the-kennedy-center-after-firing-board-members\/\">appointed himself<\/a> to the Kennedy Center board, and added <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/politics\/trump\/trump-appoints-two-fox-news-hosts-to-kennedy-center-board\/\">several of his allies<\/a> to the board as well, who then named him chair. The new Trump-controlled board voted to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/critics-aghast-as-trumps-name-already-added-to-kennedy-center-vandalism-illegal-obnoxious-sht\/\">change the center\u2019s name<\/a> to add the president\u2019s name. The center\u2019s website, social media, and other digital branding were updated to say \u201cThe Trump Kennedy Center,\u201d and his name was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/critics-aghast-as-trumps-name-already-added-to-kennedy-center-vandalism-illegal-obnoxious-sht\/\">added to the building\u2019s fa\u00e7ade<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. <strong>Joyce Beatty<\/strong> (D-OH), a Kennedy Center board member who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/critics-aghast-as-trumps-name-already-added-to-kennedy-center-vandalism-illegal-obnoxious-sht\/\">objected<\/a> to the renaming, filed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/lawcrime\/democratic-congresswoman-on-kennedy-center-board-sues-to-challenge-trumps-illegal-renaming\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">lawsuit<\/a> in late December challenging the \u201cillegal renaming,\u201d arguing that \u201c[b]ecause Congress named the center by statute, changing the Kennedy Center\u2019s name requires an act of Congress.\u201d She has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/lawcrime\/norm-eisen-mocks-trumps-motion-to-keep-name-on-kennedy-center-batsh-crazy\/\">represented<\/a> by a legal team led by <strong>Norm Eisen<\/strong>, along with the organization he co-founded, Democracy Defenders Action, and the Washington Litigation Group.<\/p>\n<p>In May, Judge<strong> Christopher Cooper<\/strong>, an Obama appointee on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/judge-orders-removal-of-trumps-name-from-kennedy-center\/\">ruled in Beatty\u2019s favor<\/a>, ordering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/politics\/trump\/trump-goes-nuclear-after-judge-rules-his-name-must-be-yanked-off-kennedy-center-should-be-ashamed\/\">Trump\u2019s name to be removed<\/a>\u00a0from the Kennedy Center by Friday, June 12. After Trump\u2019s last-minute <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/lawcrime\/norm-eisen-mocks-trumps-motion-to-keep-name-on-kennedy-center-batsh-crazy\/\">appeals<\/a>\u00a0failed, workers spent hours slowly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/politics\/trump\/live-stream-workers-begin-removing-trumps-name-from-kennedy-center\/\">putting up scaffolding<\/a> in front of the Kennedy Center to reach the letters, and then began <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/tarp-put-up-to-block-onlookers-from-watching-trumps-name-removed-from-kennedy-center\/\">hanging up large tarps<\/a> that concealed their work <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/print\/activist-group-takes-photos-under-kennedy-center-tarp-first-look-after-trumps-name-removed\/\">removing the letters<\/a> in Trump\u2019s name and blocked the view of the Kennedy Center fa\u00e7ade afterwards.<\/p>\n<p>Cooper had also ordered the Kennedy Center not to go through with its declared plans to close for two years for renovations. The Trump-led board has appealed Cooper&#8217;s order on both issues; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/lawcrime\/judge-orders-trump-admin-to-explain-the-purpose-for-and-status-of-the-tarp-and-scaffolding-on-the-kennedy-center\/\">tarps remain<\/a> hanging on the front of the building in the meantime, and\u00a0the board also voted on Thursday to again <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/breaking-trump-led-kennedy-center-board-votes-to-close-for-renovations\/\">close for renovations<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/08\/13\/arts\/design\/kennedy-center-closure-board-vote-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Times<\/em><\/a>\u00a0cited &#8220;two people with direct knowledge of the proceedings&#8221; regarding the board&#8217;s votes. The new inscription for the center will add &#8220;Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump&#8221; underneath Kennedy&#8217;s name on the fa\u00e7ade as well as renaming a grounds area &#8220;President Donald J. Trump Plaza.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The resolution enacting these changes credited Trump for rescuing the center &#8220;from the brink of disaster&#8221; and seeks &#8220;to recognize and honor President Trump\u2019s existential and unprecedented contributions to the survival of the center by all legal means.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Beatty&#8217;s attorney Eisen reacted to the news of the vote to try again to put Trump&#8217;s name on the building, describing it as Trump&#8217;s &#8220;handpicked board&#8221; having &#8220;defied the court by voting to put it back, rename the plaza after him, [and] close the Center for two years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ll answer for it in court, again,&#8221; he vowed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"333730ed055d6d4a8fbbcca97fafb03b\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: A fed. judge ordered Trump&#039;s name off the Kennedy Center in May<\/p>\n<p>Today his handpicked board defied the court by voting to put it back, rename the plaza after him, &amp; close the Center for two years<\/p>\n<p>They&#039;ll answer for it in court, again -TN<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/eafHbZfWjF\">https:\/\/t.co\/eafHbZfWjF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NormEisen\/status\/2087969723392626827?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>Eisen also shared a scathing statement from Beatty and the rest of her legal team, writing that they were &#8220;not done fighting.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"0adc15c9fe3e7a44e645323f7205cb1c\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Our full statement on today&#039;s Kennedy Center vote, w\/ <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DDAction_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DDAction_<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepBeatty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RepBeatty<\/a> &amp; WLG<\/p>\n<p>We&#039;re not done fighting <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f447.png\" alt=\"\ud83d\udc47\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em;max-height: 1em\" \/>-TN<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Y6pvE0fvQH\">https:\/\/t.co\/Y6pvE0fvQH<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Z5m9iPGQ9v\">pic.twitter.com\/Z5m9iPGQ9v<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NormEisen\/status\/2087983346882134449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>The board&#8217;s vote had &#8220;flouted a court order preventing the institution from being unlawfully renamed after President Donald Trump, and once again voted to shut down the Kennedy Center,&#8221; the lawyers argued, which was in violation of the federal statute that had created the Kennedy Center and &#8220;expressly prohibits erecting &#8216;memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials&#8217; with few, very limited exceptions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis morning\u2019s decision to close the Center and the surprise agenda item to put Donald Trump\u2019s name back on the building was more of the same,\u201d said Beatty. \u201cThis latest development is a transparent effort to circumvent the court\u2019s ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed. I will continue to fight for this treasured national monument.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA federal judge already rejected the board\u2019s unlawful attempt to rename the Kennedy Center, and told Donald Trump\u2019s handpicked board that its last closure vote was ill-informed and preordained. Today\u2019s vote is more of the same, and a show of blatant disrespect to the courts,\u201d said Eisen and <strong>Nathaniel Zelinsky<\/strong> of Washington Litigation Group. \u201cThe court already ruled against the board when it bowed to Trump\u2019s demands. Now, the defendants must answer for their actions \u2014 again \u2014 in court.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/lawcrime\/trump-controlled-kennedy-center-board-votes-for-new-scheme-to-put-his-name-back-on-building-despite-court-order\/\">Trump-Controlled Kennedy Center Board Votes for New Scheme to Put His Name Back on Building Despite Court Order<\/a> first appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\">Mediaite<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AP Photo\/Rahmat Gul The Board for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to approve trying again to add President Donald Trump&#8217;s name to the building, a move The New York Times arts and culture reporter Julia Jacobs characterized as &#8220;aggressively testing a federal judge\u2019s order.&#8221; Shortly after his second&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/am13.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26169495348136-1200x800.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}